How to launch a product at a trade show

Who doesn’t like a trade show, especially if you’re a business owner? They’re the perfect combination of a social gathering and product/service display. Trade shows let you offer whatever you’re selling to a large amount of people in-person without them ever feeling as if the item is being shoved down their collective throats.

That being said, if you’d like to attract the type of clientele that sticks around, you’ll have to do more than just set up a booth and hope for the best. Successfully launching a product at a trade show takes perfect planning and execution, but the results will make it all worthwhile.

Before the trade show launch – letting people know about you

Yes, there will be a lot of people at the trade launch, but none of them are guaranteed to show an interest in what you have to offer. While some trade shows are niche-specific(cars, technology), others have businesses of all sorts displaying their products. How can you get the most out of your launch? Start by planning.

Firstly, know the type of trade show you’re launching at. As already mentioned, is it niche-specific or one that has various different business types? You can learn this from various sources, although knowing someone who’s part of the trade show staff is your best bet. If you can get one of the organizers to share some data about the businesses in attendance, even better.

Next up is, of course, marketing. Regardless of the type of trade show, you’ll want everyone in the area to know how great your products are. Leaflets, pamphlets, stickers, traffic advertisement, online advertisement… Try to make use of as many of these as possible to reach out to a large group of people. Each form of advertising will increase the chances of additional interested parties visiting the trade show for your product alone, and will also let visitors know where you’re at and how to find you(these places can get very crowded).

Keep an eye out for competition, too: if there are others offering a similar product, you’ll have to find a way to stick out from the rest of the crowd and make your product seem the best. Your job’s easier if your product is the only one of its kind at the trade show, but you’ll still have to work on appeal.

The actual launch – getting people to view, stay and buy

Needless to say, your booth and preferably the area around it will have to be inviting and visually appealing. If you don’t know how to accomplish this, you might want to work with a designer who will help you look better than other businesses at the trade show. Remember that appearance is a huge part of advertising and advertising is how you sell your product.

You might feel that things will get easier once you’re at the trade show and have successfully launched, but they aren’t likely to. You’ll have to ensure that your booth loses none of its flair for the duration of the trade show – make sure the employees manning it are highly-motivated ones, as seeing sellers who look like they’d rather be elsewhere can deter potential customers like few other things can.